Memory of the Cat
by xElementFivex
Summary: Kyo's lost his memory and is living with strangers. The rest of the Sohma's are searching for him. Will they find him in time to keep him from accidently revealing the family secret?
1. A Visit From the Doctor

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.**

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'_That stupid rat.'_

Kyo stood with his back against the wall in the stairwell. From here, he could hear everything that happened in the main room. Often, before school, Kyo would stand in this spot on the stairs and wait until he heard Tohru and Yuki leave. Sure, waiting meant he was usually late to school. But he didn't really care about school, and a detentions for being late was a million times better than having to see Yuki's smirking face in the this early in the morning.

This morning, however, there was an extra person in the house. Kyo had been curious when he stood listening in his usual spot, and heard Hatori's deep voice, complete with its usual air of exhaustion. The Sohma family and its many illnesses, especially Akito's, really ran Hatori ragged sometimes. The guy needed a break every once in a while, at least in Kyo's opinion.

Kyo's curiosity was quickly replaced with irritation when he heard his name coming from the main room. They were talking about him!

'_They don't criticize me enough to my face? Now they wait until I'm not in the room and talk about me even m ore?'_

"The school called yesterday," Shigure's voice sounded from down the stairs. "It seems Kyo's been late every day for the past month and some days he doesn't show up at all. And the days he does bother to come, he gets into fights and runs off. They said they've called several times about this and left messages, but I've never gotten any. Kyo must have been erasing them. Yuki, Tohru; you're both in Kyo's class. You must have known about his behavior. Why haven't you said anything to me about it?"

"Well…um…," Tohru sounded nervous. "I wanted say something but I wasn't sure if I should! Mom always said it isn't right to gossip and I figured Kyo wouldn't want you to know! I'm sorry! I guess I should have said something."

"No Miss Honda." This time it was Yuki's voice. Kyo's hands tightened into fists almost involuntarily at the sound of his life-long rivals words. "You shouldn't be sorry. Shigure, I didn't say anything because it would serve him right to get kicked out of school or held back a grade. If that stupid cat can't bother to wake up early enough in the morning to get to school, then that's his problem. Besides, only an idiot would get into a fight with the guys he gets into it with. Personally I'm surprised he hasn't had his face beaten in yet. He's really a terrible fighter. Not to mention that…"

"Yuki," Hatori said with a sigh. "Can you please stop berating your cousin for five minutes so that I can properly listen to your lungs? It's bad enough you won't come to the main house for your check ups. Since I had to drive all the way out to Shigure's house, the least you can do is let me do my job quickly."

'_Well,' thought_ Kyo, '_that explains what Hatori's doing here'._ He clenched his fists tighter. '_That damn Yuki! How dare he act like he's king of the freaking world. It's bad enough that all the girls at school call him 'Prince'. He really doesn't need his head inflated anymore than it already is!' _Kyo felt a sudden pain in his hands. He looked down, surprised to see little half-moons of blood on his palms. In his anger, he had clenched his fists so hard that his nails had broken the skin.

The ringing of the phone momentarily distracted Kyo from his bloody hands. '_Hope it's not the school again.'_ He heard someone, probably Shigure, get up and walk to the kitchen to answer the phone. Shigure had been waiting the last week for a call from his publisher about his newest novel. '_Novel, huh? More like dimestore smut.'_

"Hatori! It's the main house calling for you. Something about Akito having a fever." Shigure called from the kitchen.

Kyo heard Hatori sigh heavily, then the slight creak of floorboards as he walked over to the kitchen to deal with Akito. Kyo was just thankful that _he_ didn't have to deal with Akito or any of the family at the main house. It was bad enough having to live with Yuki. Shigure wasn't so terrible, even if he spent more than half the day being perverted.

"Miss Honda, it looks like this check up is going to take longer than Hatori thought it would. Why don't you start walking to school so you won't be late? I'll try and catch up with you and if I can't, then I'll see you when I get to school." Said Yuki

"Um okay. Are you sure?" asked Tohru. "I don't want you to get lonely on your walk, although… I really don't want to be late to school… I know! Why don't you walk with Kyo when he comes downstairs! You can make sure that he actually goes to school today."

Yuki sighed. "You couldn't pay me to walk to school with that stupid cat. Not the way he's been behaving lately. I know that he'd just try to fight and then he'll just get angrier when I beat him… Like always. He doesn't seem to understand that I'm a better fighter than he is. I swear sometimes he is the densest person I've ever met. No. I'll just walk by myself."

"Ok," said Tohru. "I'll see you later." Kyo heard the sound of Tohru getting up and sliding the front door open and closed as she left the house.

After hearing what Yuki had to say, Kyo was practically shaking with anger. No, not anger, rage. Forgetting about the pain in his hands, and the fact that Hatori and Shigure were in the next room, Kyo stormed down the rest of the stairs and into the main room. Yuki looked up, surprised to see his orange haired cousin burst into the room. He quickly stood. It looked Kyo was more than ready for a fight.

'_What else is new?' _thought Yuki.

"You damn rat!" yelled Kyo. "I am so sick and tired of you! What, do you think you're perfect? You think you can call me stupid? You think you can say I'm an idiot? I don't get why people even like you! You're just a self-centered, spoiled little jerk!" Kyo stood, breathing hard, fists clenched, staring at the slender, silver-haired boy across the room from him.

"Are you done talking now?" Yuki said calmly, flipping a lock of hair away from his eyes. "Because I'd really like to kick your ass now, so that I don't have to be too late for school. Judging from our last fight though, I'd say it shouldn't take longer than a few minutes to beat you in a fight."

"That's it! I'm going to fucking kill you rat boy!" screamed Kyo. He ran at Yuki, aiming at punch straight at the middle of his face. He wanted to break the rat boys' smug face.

Yuki easily dodged Kyo's punch and got in one of his own as the orange haired boy flew past him and hit the wall. He usually tried to hold back, after all Kyo was still his cousin, no matter how angry he made him. Today though, Yuki didn't feel like holding back. Kyo had stepped on his last nerve this morning.

While Kyo was still on the ground, Yuki calmly walked around and delivered a swift kick to Kyo's ribs. It was a cheap shot and he knew it. Kyo grunted in pain and clutched his midsection. He started to get up and come at Yuki again, but Yuki aimed a quick punch at Kyo's face, catching him on the right eye. Kyo fell back against the wall, one hand on his ribs, the other on his eye. Yuki pulled his arm back for the final blow.

"Yuki? What in the world is going on in here?" Shigure said, as he walked back into the room with Hatori. "Oh, Kyo. I didn't know you were awake yet. Do you think you two could leave your fighting for outside. It really is annoying when my house gets damaged in the process."

"Sorry Shigure," said Yuki. "Kyo and I were just having a little argument, that's all. I think the fight is pretty much over now anyways. Right, Kyo?" Yuki smirked down at Kyo, who was trying hard not to show pain on his face.

"Shut up! Both of you! I'm so sick of this house! I'm sick of living here, with a self-righteous rat and a grown man who acts like a perverted teenager half the time! I'm leaving! Don't expect me home tonight!" Kyo stood up, almost falling over from the pain in his ribs. He ran over to the front door, and grabbing his coat off a hook near the door, left. He left his backpack where he had dropped it when he charged at Yuki.

"Make sure you go to school today!" Shigure yelled at Kyo's retreating back. Shigure sighed. "Honestly, will the two of you ever stop?"

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	2. From the Rooftop

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.**

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Kyo slammed the door behind him as he stormed out of Shigure's house. He could hear Shigure calling after him, saying something about school. _'Like I care.'_ Thought Kyo. _'I'll be happy if I never have to go near that damn school or anyone in it again. Especially that arrogant rat. The only time I'll ever be happy to see him is the day I pound his stupid pretty-boy face into the ground!'_

While Kyo silently ranted against Yuki, he walked further and further into the forest surrounding Shigure's house. The scenery was one of the only good things about living with Shigure and Yuki. Kyo had always felt more at home with the wildlife than with people. People were complicated. People were annoying. People were the reason he was so pissed off all the time.

"Aw, shit!" Kyo exclaimed. He had dodged around a big tree to see… the house. _'What the hell! I just can't get away from this fucking place! Even the damn woods keep forcing me back!" _

Kyo sighed and ran a hand through his orange hair. The mere sight of the house was grating on his nerves. He decided he better move before anyone looked out and saw him standing there. What an idiot he would look like. Storming out angrily, just to go stand outside and stare at the house. That would probably just give them more to laugh about. He could hear it now, _'Stupid cat! Can't even run away without messing it up!'_

Almost like his thoughts had been heard inside the house, the door started to slide open. Kyo quickly ducked back around the tree, hoping whoever it was hadn't seen him. Sighing, he thought, _'Maybe I should just go to school today. I've got nowhere else to go. But damnit… I __really__ don't__want to see all those stupid girls throwing themselves all over Yuki like he's royalty. Prince? More like joker.'  
_

"Huh!?" Kyo felt something warm and soft on his leg. He looked down and saw a skinny, orange cat winding itself around his ankle. "Why ya wanna be around me anyways, ya dumb cat? Don't you know I'm useless? I don't wanna be around me somedays. I can't even beat my own cousin in a stupid fight."

The cat just looked up at him with its crimson eyes.

"Don't you have a home to go to? I guess you're just like me, huh? No one wants to take care of you either. But hey, we don't need anyone to take of us, do we? We do just fine on our own."

'_What the hell am I doing? Talking to this cat like it can understand me. I really am pathetic.'_

The cat suddenly stopped looking at Kyo and turned its eyes towards the house. Then, with barely a sound, it scampered out from behind the trees, across and yard and leapt onto the fence. From there it made its way onto the roof of the house. Kyo smiled. The roof was his favorite place to go when he was stressed out and tired of being around people. He supposed it was the cat in him that loved to be up high. _'Good idea, little buddy.'_ He thought.

He checked to see if the door was still open. It wasn't. There was no one in the yard and no windows in the house were open either. That was good; he could probably make it over to the fence without alerting anyone to his presence. As silently as… well, a cat… he quickly made his way across the yard and reached the fence. He was tall enough to reach the top of the fence by standing on his tip toes. He grasped the top of the fence with both hands and, using his upper body strength, pulled himself up until he was balanced on the top. He carefully made his way over to where the roof on the side of house came near the fence. In one fluid motion he stood quickly and leapt to the roof before he lost his balance. He landed on all fours with a slight thump. Hopefully they didn't hear the noise inside the house.

He walked up the roof until he got to the very highest point. This was his favorite spot, right next to the chimney. He couldn't count the number of times that he had sat up here. He sat down. From here he had a good view of the woods. He couldn't really see that far, because most of the trees were too tall, but that was okay. He didn't come for the view. He came to be alone.

He noticed dark clouds on the horizon as he looked at the sky. It looked like rain was coming. A sudden burst of wind made him hug his coat tighter to his body. He jammed his hands into the pockets to keep them warm.

'_Huh? What's this?'_ For the first time since he had stormed out of the house he looked down at his coat. The first thing he noticed was that it wasn't his. _'Damn. I was in such a hurry to get out of there I didn't even notice I grabbed the wrong one! Hmmm… it doesn't look like Shigure's, and it's too big to be Yuki's. It's definitely not Tohru's. It must belong to Hatori.'_

He turned his attention to the thing he had felt when he put his hands in the pocket. Whatever it was, it was hard and cold, like metal. He pulled it out and looked at it.

'_Hatori's car keys?'_

A smile slowly crept across Kyo's face. He had wanted to really get away this time, and now he had the perfect opportunity. _'This is perfect! With a car I can get much farther than I ever could on foot. I wish it weren't Hatori's car though. I feel worse taking it from him. I guess he's never actually done anything to me… but he's part of the damn family, which means he can never be just an innocent bystander. None of us can.'_

Kyo stood, his mind made up about what he was going to do next. Sure, stealing a car, even if it was his cousin's, was drastic. But he had really had it with them all this time. He needed out now.

He darted to the edge of the roof and in one quick motion, launched himself off and landed on his feet in the yard. He ran over to the side of the house where Hatori's car was parked, using the remote to unlock the locks while he ran. He yanked open the driver's side door and slid onto the cool leather seat. He fumbled with the keys, trying to put them in the ignition. Finally the key slid in and Kyo was rewarded with the sound of the engine catching.

"Kyo! What the hell are you doing?!" Shigure, Yuki, and Hatori were all running into the yard. Quickly, before any of them could close to the car, Kyo threw it in reverse and backed down the driveway. Putting the car in drive and turning onto the main path, he threw one last glance in the rearview mirror. He could see Shigure and Yuki yelling something. Hatori was just standing there in shock. Looking at him, Kyo felt a fleeting moment of guilt for putting his cousin through so much trouble. Hatori was going to have to get a new car. Kyo hadn't been kidding about not expecting him home. He wasn't planning on coming back.

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	3. A Close Call

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"Kyo! What the hell are you doing?!" alerted by the sudden sound of the car engine, Shigure, Hatori, and Yuki came running through the door and into the yard, just in time to see Kyo throwing the car in reverse. The three stood in shock as Kyo quickly reverses out of the driveway and then sped away down the main road. Several seconds of complete silence filled the air after the sound of the car engine dwindled away. Yuki was the first to recover his voice.

"What…the… What the hell just happened?! What is that stupid cat thinking? I knew he had a temper, but stealing Hatori's car? Really? This is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Well," Shigure spoke next, "I can't say I saw this one coming. I know Kyo doesn't particularly enjoy living here, but I didn't think he was this desperate." Shigure's voice held none of its usual frivolity. "I suppose we're going to have to call the police to track him down and get your car back Hatori. Hmmm…Wait a second! How did Kyo end up with your car keys anyway?"

Hatori remained silent, staring down the empty drive with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"Hatori?" Shigure said a bit louder this time, bringing Hatori out of his reverie.

"I…I'm not sure. I left my keys in the pocket of my coat, and I…" Hatori sighed heavily. "Of course. Kyo must have grabbed my coat instead of his jacket when he stormed out of the house. I suppose finding my keys was just too good of an opportunity for him to pass up."

"Shigure," Yuki said, "if you're going to call the police, you really should do it now before he gets any farther with the car. I'll go get the phone." Yuki turned to go back through the door.

"No." Hatori said, putting a hand Yuki's shoulder to stop him. "There's no need to call the police."

"No need? He took your car! Don't you want it back?" Yuki stared in disbelief at Hatori.

"Don't get me wrong Yuki, I do want my car. It's just that I don't think we need the police to get it back. I'm sure if we just give Kyo a few hours, he'll return it. He may have an uncontrollable temper, but he's not a bad person. He'll start feeling guilty eventually, and when that happens, he'll come back. Now Yuki, I was just about done with your checkup anyway and you're already late for school. You better get going."

"Fine," retorted the silver-haired teen. As he opened up the door to grab his backpack he added, "But if it was up to me, I would call and have that stupid cat thrown in jail." Having said that, he shouldered his backpack and began walking quickly away from the house, down the main drive towards school.

"Hatori." Shigure said as they watched Yuki walking away. "What if he doesn't come back? What if he was really serious about leaving?" The man's voice was still uncharacteristically serious.

"He will. I'm not worried about it. What does concern me, however, is my sudden lack of transportation. I really do need to get back to the main house to look at Akito. Hmm…" Hatori hung his head in thought.

"I know!" The usual light-hearted tone returned to Shigure's voice. "Why don't I call Aya? He can come escort you home! I haven't seen him in awhile and I know he wanted to see you as well!"

Hatori sighed and rubbed his eyes. Just the thought of his over-enthusiastic cousin was exhausting. "Maybe I'll just stay here tonight, Shigure."

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Kyo's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. He had been speeding along the highway, away from town for a good half an hour already. His anger still hadn't cooled down. Just the thought of that house, his family, and the damn rat were enough to fuel his rage. Pain wasn't helping his mood either. His ribs and the right side of his face still ached from his fight with Yuki. And his palms stung where he had pierced them with his nails before that. He caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror. No wonder his face hurt! A big bruise was blossoming on his cheek and he had what looked like the beginning of a nasty black eye. Great. Just what he needed, another reason for people to judge him. The dull ache from his ribs bothered him. He hadn't looked, but he assumed he had another bruise forming across his torso.

Tired of thinking about yet another failed fight with his cousin, Kyo turned his attention to the CD player in the car. He felt the sudden urge to drown out his thoughts with music. He pressed the on button and cranked the volume. Classical music blared from the speakers.

'_What the hell?' _Kyo rifled through the rest of the cds in the console. '_Classical, classical, jazz, opera. Opera? Really? Jeez, Hatori needs some actual music in his car.'_

He snapped the radio off with a quick flick of his wrist. He made a mental note to get Hatori some real music for his birthday. _'Wait. I guess I won't be there for that, will I? I said I wasn't coming back, and I meant it!"_

Still, Kyo felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach. It really was unfair of him to take Hatori's car. Hatori had never really been as awful to Kyo as some of the rest of the family. Not like Yuki or Shigure. But… Shigure hadn't really been bad to Kyo either. Even Yuki had had some okay days. As much as Kyo hated to admit it, his cousin wasn't always terrible.

"It doesn't matter!" Kyo suddenly shouted to the empty car interior. "I was miserable there. AND I'M NOT GOING BACK!"

Kyo looked up at the road and screamed. There was another car coming straight for him! He yanked this wheel hard to the right, going back into his lane and then off onto the side of the road. He slowed the car to a stop and sat there, breathing hard. He laid his head on the steering wheel and concentrated on slowing the furious tempo of his heartbeat.

How could he have not noticed he was drifting into oncoming traffic? Thank god he had looked up when he did.

'_Everyone's right. I really do need to learn to control my temper. I was so busy being angry…What if I hadn't looked up when I did?'_ Kyo shuddered, not wanting to think about what would have happened if he had hit that other car. _'I was going so fast. Why am I so stupid?! They're right, I really am useless.'_

Kyo sat up and took his head off the steering wheel. He looked around, and for the first time, noticed that huge drainage ditches lined both sides of the road. They looked deep. Kyo shivered again as he thought about what could have happened. He could be down in that ditch right now.

'_Maybe…Maybe I should just go back. I can give Hatori his car back. It's not so terrible at Shigure's. I can just ignore Yuki. And Tohru being there makes the two of them more bearable to be around.'_

Kyo looked up at the windshield in surprise as a fat water droplet hit and rolled down. More quickly followed. The storm clouds that he had seen from the roof had finally found him. He suddenly felt exhausted from the near miss. Now that he had been sitting there for awhile, the adrenaline from almost crashing had worn off. The weather wasn't helping either. Kyo always felt tired and listless when it rained.

The rain was starting to come down more heavily now. The weather banished the last doubt from Kyo's mind. He was going back.

'_They're all going to be so pissed. But at least I won't feel so bad about it if I can give Hatori back his car.'_

Kyo leaned closer to the dashboard, trying to locate the switch to turn on the headlights, since the rain was really pouring down now. He found it and flipped the lights on. As he straightened up he saw a sudden flash in his rearview mirror. He looked more closely into the mirror. The flash he had seen were the headlights of a car coming up on the road behind him. He decided to wait for the car to pass before he made the u-turn to get back on the road.

'_What the hell?'_ The lights were reflecting off the rearview mirror and into Kyo's face. His eyes suddenly widened in horror. The car wasn't going to pass him. It was coming right towards him!

"Shit! " He had to get out of the car now! Kyo unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door handle. Just as his hand made contact with the handle, the other car slammed into the back of Hatori's car at seventy miles per hour. The impact sent Kyo's car flipping end over end, into the ditch.

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	4. Rain

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"We'll call you if we find him. But you really shouldn't be too concerned at this stage, Mr. Sohma. You say he left at around nine a.m. and it's only three p.m. now. He hasn't been gone very long. Ninety percent of teen runaways return home within the first twenty-four hours. We've already broadcast the license plate number of the car he's driving to all our units in the area. He'll get home one way or another. Now you have a pleasant day Mr. Sohma, and like I said, we'll contact you if any new information comes up."

Hatori stared at the phone in his hand, which was busy emitting a discouraging dial tone, for a few seconds before depositing it back onto the phone receiver.

"How'd it go?" asked Shigure from his seat on the floor near the table.

"That police officer was exceedingly optimistic. I like to think that the law enforcement in this country can be a little more serious." Hatori sighed and leaned his back against the wall next to the phone. "I don't think he grasped the gravity of the situation at all."

Shigure responded, "I seem to remember you making pretty light of the situation this morning yourself. Didn't you say, 'Oh no, I'm sure he'll be home with my car soon. Teenage angst? What's the big deal?'"

"That's not even close to what I said, Shigure."

"Well, whatever it was you said, it sure sounded just as optimistic as that officer. And while I'm all for a little optimism on your part, I still don't understand your sudden change of heart."

"I just… I suddenly had a bad feeling about this whole mess…"

"Of course you did." Yuki slid open the front door. "I'm home. And I'm guessing from what I heard, Kyo isn't." Yuki put down his backpack and took a seat next to Shigure. "Like I said this morning, I'd be worried too if I were you. There's a reckless teenage driver behind the wheel of your car. Not to mention Kyo's a terrible driver even when he isn't angry. By the way, why were you calling Hatori? I would have thought that Shigure would call, seeing as how he's Kyo's guardian at the moment."

"Oh…about that…" Shigure chuckled sheepishly. "I did call. I was in the middle of giving them a description of Kyo and…"

Hatori interrupted his explanation with a note of irritation in his voice. "When Shigure started telling the chief of police that Kyo might have kidnapped the family's extremely ill-behaved cat, I thought it might be time for me to step in. I didn't want them to think our call was some sort of prank. You know, I was really hoping this wouldn't be necessary in the first place. I just can't believe how irresponsible Kyo's acting!" Hatori threw his arms up in a gesture of agitation. It was obvious the events of the day had really worn down his nerves. One of his hands hit the phone and knocked both it and the receiver off the wall.

"Shigure, I'm sorry!" Hatori's usual calm, reserved tone gave way to an anxious, high toned pitch.

"Don't worry about it." Shigure grinned. "As long as you're not destroying the front door, I'm happy."

******************** _6 hours earlier_

'_Rain? Great, just what I need right now.'_

Haruka looked unhappily at the leaden clouds she could see through the windshield. Why did it have to rain now? She hated driving in the rain. Her driving skills were mediocre at best, and that was in ideal weather conditions.

'_Figures. The one day I have to drive all the way into town, it rains. Just my luck.'_

Haruka cast one last glance up towards the sky and then concentrated her eyes back on the road, which was quickly becoming soaked by fat water droplets. Her parents had gone out of town on a business trip the week before and had forgotten to buy groceries before they left. She had put off driving to the store for as long as she could, but this morning she had opened the fridge to find a single, brown banana. So she made the long trek from her secluded house on the outskirts of town to the only decent grocery store she knew of- and of course it was the one located the farthest away from her house.

Haruka was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of her cell phone vibrating against the center console. She picked it up and looked at it in surprise. Her parents rarely called her when they went out of town. She reached for the button to accept the call when her car went over a slight bump in the road. She lost her grip on the phone and it fell somewhere under her seat.

"Great. This day is just perfect so far."

Haruka glanced at the road in front of her. There weren't any cars ahead of or behind her. She quickly ducked down and keeping one hand on the wheel, thrust the other under the seat and felt around for her phone.

"Ha! Got it!" She closed her hand around the phone and straightened up just in time to see that she was drifting onto the side of the road.

"Shit!" Haruka caught sight of something through the rain. It was a car parked on the side of the road. She wasn't going to be able to change course quickly enough!

Haruka braced herself against the steering wheel and screamed as the front end of her car smashed into the other car's bumper and sent it spinning down into the ditch on the side of the road. The impact slammed her up against her seat belt. Her car slid a little a wet ground, and she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the moment when her car too, would slide into the ditch. Miraculously, she felt her car slow to a stop. She opened her eyes. The front end of her car was dangerously close to the edge.

'_Why? Why would they put these stupid drainage ditches here? And why make them so deep? I could have been killed! I could have… Oh god…"_

Haruka remembered the other car. Hand shaking, she reached for her door handle. She had to get out and see if the other car needed help. As she pushed open the door, a rush of cold air and raindrops hit her. She stumbled as she pulled herself out of the car and looked over to where the other car had landed.

"Oh God," she said. She finally caught sight of the other car. It had come to rest on its side down in the ditch. The back end of the car was completely trashed, and the front was even worse. The metal of the front resembled an accordion from where the car had hit on its way down.

'_There…There's a person in there. Oh god, what if there's more than one? They're probably really hurt!'_

Without thinking about it first, Haruka scrambled down the sloped side of the ditch, ignoring the pain in her chest from where the seatbelt had dug into her. She started shaking even harder as she approached the wreck. It looked terrible. _'Please, please, please let them be alright…' _She bent down to look into the window.

There was just one person in the car. _'He looks like he's my age.'_

The boy's head was resting on the steering wheel. Haruka noticed his hair was the most vibrant shade of orange. _'Stupid! What a stupid thing to think about right now, Haruka! He needs help!'_

"Are you okay?" He didn't reply.

"Are you okay?" She asked again, with a note of panic in her voice. He didn't even move. She reached in through the broken window and touched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Uhhhhhh" The boy raised his head off the steering wheel. Blood covered the left side of his face. More dripped from his hair. She couldn't see where it was all coming from!

"I was…going…to go…home…I… was…" The boy mumbled something incoherent and then went completely limp. His head slammed back onto the steering wheel.

"Nononononono." Haruka shook the boy's shoulder. "Please wake back up, please! You're alright, ok? Yeah, you're fine!" Haruka's panic was overwhelming her. "My cell phone! I need my phone! I have to call an ambulance!"

She ran back up the embankment to her car and grabbed her phone. She sobbed as she punched in the numbers. Her tears mixed the rain and soaked her face. She looked again at the mangled car below.

"Please let him be alright."

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	5. Panic

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"Still hasn't woken up yet, huh?"

"No, not yet. Poor thing. He looks like he's around the same age as my kids."

"I think it's better he's still unconscious. He's going to be in some pain when he finally does wake up."

Slowly, the words registered in the boy's brain. Who were those women speaking? And who were they talking about? Him? He opened his eyes. Where was he? He looked around. It looked like a hospital room.

'_Hospital? What happened? I can't remember. Something bad must have happened. Maybe I…I don't know.'_

The sound of a door opening distracted him from his confusion. He turned his head towards the noise. A woman, clad in green hospital scrubs, was standing in the doorway. Well, at least that told him something. If there was a nurse, he must definitely be in a hospital.

'_But why? I don't remember what happened!'_

"You're awake!" The nurse smiled gently at him. "I just came back to get your chart. How are you feeling?"

"I… uh… I don't… I'm confused. And…" For the first time, the boy was aware of pain in various parts of his body. He decided to focus on the worst one. "My head hurts."

"That's to be expected," she replied. "You were in a pretty nasty car crash. You've been out of it for awhile. You just sit tight, ok? I'll go get the doctor and after he looks at you, we can get you some medicine for that headache." She grabbed the chart off the end of his bed and swiftly exited the room.

'_Car crash? I guess that would explain what I'm doing in the hospital. But I still can't remember it. Why can't I remember? I need to-'_

His thoughts were once again interrupted by someone opening the door. The nurse entered again, followed by man in a white coat who the boy assumed must be the doctor.

"Hey, kiddo. Glad to see you awake." The nurse handed the doctor the boys chart. He casually flipped through it while he was speaking. "Looks like that accident did a real number on you. Shelly," he gestured at the nurse, "says you've got a bit of a headache huh?"

'_You call it a headache. I call it someone driving a bulldozer over my brain. But whatever.'_

The doctor proceeded to check the boy's blood pressure, temperature, and what felt like an endless array of useless procedures. The boy felt himself getting impatient. He really wanted to know more about why he was here. And there was something else that was bothering him. He couldn't quite put his finger on the problem. If felt like there was something else he couldn't remember. Something important.

"Well, it looks like you're doing as well as can be expected given the injuries you sustained in the crash. You knocked your head pretty badly, and we had to stitch it up. You also have some broken ribs and extensive bruising on your torso, so it may be too painful to sit up for awhile. There was some glass from the windshield embedded in your arm. We took it out, but you need to be careful not to use that arm until it heals, or you risk permanent damage to the nerves. Now we gave you some pain medication when they first brought you in, and it probably won't wear off for awhile, but if the pain gets unbearable, press the call button and a nurse will come help you out, ok?"

The boy nodded. The doctor smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now you just concentrate on getting better, ok?" The doctor started to leave. Halfway to the door, he remembered something and said over his shoulder, "By the way, Kyo, there's a girl in the waiting room that wants to speak with you. Is it ok if we send her in?"

'_Kyo? Is that…'_ The boys eyes widened in surprise. Was that his name? This was what had been bothering him! Why was he unsure of his own name… and for that matter…

'_I can't remember anything! I don't know if that's my name or not! But they said it, they must know something. Oh god, I can't remember anything! Why can't I remember?!'_

"Wait!" Kyo yelled at the doctor's retreating back. "I can't remember. You said Kyo, is that me? How do you know?"

"You can't remember?" The doctor and the nurse exchanged a concerned look. He approached Kyo's bed and pulled a penlight from his pocket. He shined the light in Kyo's eyes, checking his pupils. "What can't you remember?"

"Anything!" Kyo was really starting to panic now. I didn't realize until you said my name. I'm not even sure if that's right. Is that my name? How do you know it?"

The doctor looked with sympathy at Kyo's panicked expression. "You came in without any ID on you. Last I checked, the police were running a search on the license plate number of the car you were driving, but we haven't heard back from them yet. We got the name Kyo off the necklace you're wearing. I just assumed it was your name."

Kyo looked down in surprise. A simple gold chain hung around his neck and just touched the top of his hospital gown. Gold letters spelled out 'Kyo'.

'_That's weird. It's such a girly looking necklace. I feel like I wouldn't wear something like this. But maybe… I would? I don't even know what I like. Maybe I like this kind of stuff?'_

The doctor began to speak again. "It looks like you've suffered some memory lose. It's most likely because of the severe head injury you got in the crash. I've seen a few cases like this. There's really no telling how long it will last. Some people get their memories back within hours, some days, some years. Hopefully you'll start to remember things soon. Most likely, once the police figure out your full name and where you live, we can find your family. That should help you to remember something."

Kyo stared at the doctor. There wasn't much else he could do.

'_Where do I go from here? I feel lost. I don't know if there's anyone looking for me. Surely, there's someone. Surely, someone in the world is wondering where I am right now.'_

"How about this," the doctor said. "You've been through quite a shock in the last couple of hours. I'll go and make a call to the police station. I'll see if they've come up with any information regarding you, ok? You just sit back and take it easy. Keep your arm up in the sling, and try not to put too much strain on your body. Oh and Shelly?" The nurse nodded at the doctor. "Give him something for that headache, will you?"

Having said that, the doctor excused himself from the room. The nurse busied herself by searching for something in a nearby cabinet filled with medical supplies. Finally, she found what she was looking for and turned to look at Kyo. An anxious silence permeated the room. Then she spoke.

"You must be a little freaked out, huh? It's okay. We're going to take care of you." She smiled, attempting to reassure him. "Here," She held up the syringe she had taken out of the cabinet. "This should help your headache. Just hold out your left arm. Oh, what's this?"

Kyo looked at his arm. She was referring to the string of beads he had around his left wrist. He felt a sudden twinge in his stomach. Something about the bracelet made him nervous.

"It looks like it got a bit dirty during your accident. Why don't I take it and wash it off. I'll just-"

"NO!!!" Kyo yanked his wrist away. He instinctively swung his right arm up towards her face. A searing pain erupted in his right arm, making him cry out. His right elbow made contact with her temple, and she crumpled to the floor.

"Shit! It was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt her!" Kyo's breathing quickened. He clutched his right arm to his chest. The stitches had torn out and blood was streaming down his hand and dripping onto the bed. He looked at the unconscious nurse.

'_What the hell is so important about this bracelet? I wish I knew! No way they're gonna believe that's why I hit her. I don't even know why. Shit, I'm gonna be in trouble.' _

He got up out of the bed, and stepping gingerly around the unconscious woman, he made his way to door. Through the tiny window, he couldn't see anyone in the hallway.

'_I've gotta get out of here before that doctor comes back.'_

He looked through the window again. Still no one in the hallway. Now might be his only chance. He glanced guiltily at Nurse Shelly.

'_I hope she'll be alright. I didn't hit her too hard. I hope.'_

He took a deep breath and shoved open the door. Without thinking twice and ignoring the pain that now racked his body, he sprinted down the hallway to the exit sign. Using his left arm, he thrust open the emergency door. As an alarm sounded inside the hospital, the orange-haired boy disappeared into the city outside.

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	6. A Few Missed Calls

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.**

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"_Oh and Shelly, give him something for that headache, will you?"_

The doctor sighed as he shut the door to the boy's room. He had been hoping for a relatively quiet day in the hospital today. No big emergencies, just the usual coughs, fevers, and maybe a broken bone or two. The morning had gone by smoothly, but his hopes for a relaxing afternoon had been shattered by an ambulance screeching into the ambulance bay outside. It wouldn't have been so bad; the boy was injured but nothing life-threatening. They had stitched up his head and his arm, and the boy seemed to be doing ok. But now, apparently the head injury was causing more problems than he had initially thought. The doctor sighed again and pinched together over the bridge of his nose. He had already had to speak to the police when they had come to question the girl who had been driving the other car. Now he had to go call them and speak to them about the boy again. No, this was definitely going to be a long afternoon.

He hurried down the hallway and was halfway through the waiting room when he noticed that the girl from the accident was still sitting in there. _'She must have been sitting here since I cleared her to go home. She didn't get hurt in the accident, so why is she still here? Is she waiting for the boy? I better go speak to her. If she's been waiting all this time, it's only fair that she know how long it may take for her to see him.'_

The girl looked up expectantly as the doctor approached her seat. She stood up to greet him.

"Doctor, is he ok? I've been so worried. I talked to the police and they said it wasn't my fault and that they were gonna call his family but I wanted to stay and see if he was ok. Maybe if he's not in too much pain, I could talk to him? I feel so terrible about this!"

"You're name is Haruka right?" The girl nodded yes in response to the doctor's question. "I'm Dr. Taylor. Strictly speaking, I can't give information about the patients to someone who's not a family member. But you've been waiting here for a long time, and you're obviously very concerned about his condition. His injuries weren't life-threatening, but that doesn't mean they weren't severe. He'll recover in time. The main problem right now, is that he can't seem to remember who he is. Now I've seen this type of post-accident amnesia before and the recovery time for memories varies from patient to patient, so I really can't tell you when or if he will regain his memories. He's very distressed right now, as is to be expected, so it's probably not a good idea for you to go talk to him. You look tired. If you insist on staying here, may I at least suggest you go to the cafeteria down the hallway and get something to eat? You've been through a trauma and you need to take it easy just as much as he does."

The doctor's expression was enough to convince Haruka that arguing would be pointless. She sighed and said, "Thank you Dr. Taylor. I'll go get something to eat. But I'm not leaving until I talk to him and apologize."

'_Besides,'_ she thought. _'I need to see him again. He looks exactly like him. I need to see him again just to be sure.'_

"Ok. I'll come and check on you in an hour or so then." The doctor patted her on the shoulder and proceeded past her to his office, which was in a hallway adjacent to the waiting room. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone and dialed the local police department. A police officer picked up after only two rings. After stating his name and relation to the hospital, the doctor proceeded to ask the officer if he had any new information on the car the boy had been driving.

"Good timing, Dr. Taylor. We just finished running the license plate twenty minutes ago. The car is registered to a Hatori Sohma. Unfortunately we can't seem to get in touch with him. We've been calling the number listed on his registration since we got his name off the scan. Every time, the phone rings until an answering machine picks up. I'm afraid all we can do for now is leave a message and continue to try and get in touch with him. If we still haven't gotten a response by six o clock tonight, I'll send an officer over to Mr. Sohma's address to try and speak with him in person."

"Thank you for your time, officer." The doctor put down the phone and ran his hands through his hair. At least they had found the boy's family without too much hassle. Maybe he could still get that rest he had been hoping for…

The doctor reclined his chair and had just closed his eyes, when an ear-splitting alarm blared through the hospital corridors. The doctor groaned in frustration and stood up.

'_What now?'_

* * *

Akito lay on his side on the porch outside his room, staring out at the garden. The phone rang in the back of the house for what sounded like the fiftieth time in the last hour. Akito thought it sounded like the phone in Hatori's office. The ringing stopped.

'_Good. Maybe they've given up. Who would call this many times in a row anyway? And why isn't Hatori here to pick up the damn phone?'_

The phone started to ring again. Akito turned over and reached his hand out to the sliding door. He slid it shut and lay back down to stare at the garden again.

* * *

"_Now you have a pleasant day Mr. Sohma, and like I said, we'll contact you if any new information comes up."_

The police officer hung up the phone and reached for a pen to document the man's complaint.

'_Teenagers. Running away and stealing cars. What next? I'm glad my kids have all grown out of that stage.'_

As he started to fill out the required forms for a car theft complaint, something tugged at his brain. Something seemed familiar about this. He looked more closely at the form he was filling out. Hatori Sohma. Why did that name sound so familiar?

He leaned his chair back and called to the officer sitting a few desks away from his. "Hey Frank! Weren't you handling something for someone with the last name Sohma?"

Frank looked up from his desk and replied, "Yeah, that car accident from earlier. The one with that teenage kid. The car was registered to a Hatori Sohma. The doctor from the hospital called a couple of hours ago. But like I told him then, I've been trying to get in touch with the guy. No one's answering though.

"Huh," the other officer replied. "I just got a call from Hatori Sohma reporting his car missing. If he's calling us, then why hasn't he picked up when we called him? Can I see the number you've been calling?"

"Sure," Frank replied. He grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and walked over to the other officer. "Here it is."

The officer compared the number on the paper to the one that he had just received a call from. "Different numbers. Well, I guess I've solved your problem and mine. I'll just call him back and give him the news that the kid wrecked his car. And then you can stop trying to get a hold of him with that other number. I don't really look forward to telling the guy the kid's laid up in the hospital though."

He picked up the phone and dialed the number that Hatori Sohma had called the station from. _'Wonder why no one picked up when Frank called the other number? Maybe he's at someone else's house. Huh, what's this?'_

Instead of hearing ringing on the other line, he heard an automated computer voice. "The number you have reached is not currently available. Please hang up and try again."

He hung up the phone and then picked it up and hit redial. Again, he was greeted with the same computerized voice.

'_That's weird. The guy just called from this number. Why is it saying it's disconnected?'_

* * *

Hatori, Shigure and Yuki sat around the table. None of them had spoken in almost half an hour, since Hatori had made his call to the police. They were all anxious to hear the phone ring, hopeful that the person on the other end would be a police officer with some information on Kyo. None of them thought twice about half an hour ago, when Hatori had knocked the phone off the wall in a moment of anger. And none of them noticed that, when he had put it back up, he had failed to replace the phone jack cord into the wall. They continued to sit in silence, waiting for a call to come on the disconnected phone.

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	7. Lost

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.**

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Shigure sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last half an hour. He glanced at his two companions. Yuki sat with his head resting in one hand, tapping out a repetitive tempo on the tabletop with the other. Hatori sat motionless, staring without blinking at the door to the kitchen, almost as if he could will the phone to ring with just his gaze.

The tension in the room got worse with every moment that passed with still no sound from the phone. The clock ticked away the seconds with agonizing slowness. Just as it seemed the three men could sit in silence no longer, they were all startled by someone roughly sliding open the front door.

All three men jumped up and turned to face the open door with hope etched on their faces. Their apprehensive hope vanished as each in turn registered the identity of the teen standing before them. Even Yuki would have gladly welcomed the sight of an orange-haired, crimson-eyed boy. Unfortunately the teen currently leaning on the doorframe with a slightly perturbed look on his face had a mess of white hair atop his head and several pieces of metal glinting in each ear.

Hatori sighed as he tried to figure a reason for Hatsuharu's sudden appearance. "What is it Hatsuharu? Sorry to be so blunt about things, but we're a little busy at the moment, so if you've just stopped by to say hi, I'll have to ask that you come back at another time."

"I have a life outside this family, you know." Hatsuharu shot an annoyed glance at Hatori. "I'm only here because Akito told me to come and find you. The damn phone in your office has been ringing off the hook all day and it's driving Akito crazy, who in turn is making life hell for the rest of us. I'd ask you to go back to the main house and answer it yourself or at least disconnect the damn thing, but if you give me the key to your office I'll do it. I wouldn't want to interrupt what seems to be an extremely important afternoon of…" he inspected the scene before him, "…sitting in Shigure's living room. I can see you're obviously busy. So if you don't mind…" He held out his hand for Hatori's key.

Yuki interrupted the tense moment between the two. "Haru, why didn't you or someone else at the main house just call here to get ahold of Hatori? You didn't need to walk all the way over here.

"I did call. It just keeps saying the number is unavailable. I didn't really have a choice. I figured if Hatori didn't show up by noon and no one would answer here, then I'd come over and find him myself."

"Noon? Haru, it's almost four."

The white-haired teen flushed a little, suddenly becoming very interested in the fingernails on his left hand. "Yeah, well I left at noon. But then, through no fault of my own, the streets I thought I was familiar with became a twisting labyrinth of-"

"Just say you got lost again." The violet-eyed boy sighed in frustration. The whole family had long since gotten used to Hatsuharu's notoriously bad sense of direction, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

"Haru, what did you say about the phone?" Shigure spoke up for the first time since Hatsuharu had entered the house.

"Every time I called, I just got an automated voice that said the number was unavailable. I just figured you disconnected your phone to annoy your editor again."

"Not this time." Shigure hurried to the phone and inspected it, spying the loose phone cord almost immediately. He held it up for the others to see. "Here's the problem. That's weird…it was working when you called the police Hatori. Hmmm…I know! It must have come unplugged when the phone got knocked off the wall. I'll just reconnect it here and we'll be back in business."

"Police?! What's going on over here?" Hatsuharu, eyes wide, stared at Hatori.

"We've run into a bit of trouble regarding Kyo. He…well… he ran away. With my car. We called the police to see if they could find him. We've been waiting for a reply. By the way Haru, do you happen to know who was calling my office?"

"No," Hatsuharu replied. "The door was shut. Obviously, or I wouldn't have had to-" Hatsuharu's budding rant was interrupted the ringing of the newly connected phone. Shigure answered before the first ring was even complete.

"Sohma house. This is Shigure Sohma…You want to speak to Hatori Sohma?...Hold on a moment please."

Shigure covered the mouthpiece of the phone and with an anxious look said, "It's the police station Ha'ri. They don't sound like they have good news."

Hatori quickly crossed to the room to Shigure and took possession of the phone.

"This is Hatori Sohma…Yes, I did report my car stolen…You found him?...HOSPITAL! We'll be right there."

* * *

Haruka looked down in surprise as her stomach gurgled hungrily. She hadn't realized just how long she had been sitting in the waiting room until Dr. Taylor had come to speak with her. She decided to take his advice and go get some food (if hospital fare counted as food).

On her way to the cafeteria, Haruka continued to mull over the thoughts that had been plaguing her all morning. She quickened her pace. The sooner she ate something, the sooner she could return to the waiting room, and the sooner she could resume her vigil over the sleeping boy. She wouldn't- couldn't- leave without seeing him again.

'_I know it's crazy. But I have to make sure…'_

As she thought, Haruka absent-mindedly picked up a bag of chips from the cafeteria counter and carried it to the register. She barely noticed when the cashier tried to strike up a conversation with her, wordlessly handing a few crumpled bills to him, and proceeding to an empty table to sit.

'_It's probably just a coincidence. It has to be. What am I thinking? There's no way it could be that. That's not even possible. But still…it's so strange. The boy…I hope he's alright. Please god let him be alright. Give me the chance to talk to him. I need to know if...no. There's absolutely no way. Except…his hair. Maybe…'_

Haruka twirled a lock of her curly, copper-colored hair around her index finger.

"_I wish I had your hair color, Haruka! It looks like a sunset! Mine's just plain orange."_

'_Isn't that what you used to say to me?' _thought Haruka, feeling a familiar twinge of sadness in her stomach. _'Orange. I always thought your hair was a beautiful shade of orange. Like his. This strange boy, lying in the hospital bed. It's my fault he's there. I should feel…sorrier than I do. But how can I truthfully feel sorry, when I believe I was meant to find him. You. Meant to find you. Is this my second chance?'_

Haruka balled up the now empty chip bag and threw it into a nearby trashcan. Time to get back to the waiting room. She swung open the door to the hallway, in a hurry to return to her post. She froze at the sight before her.

It was the boy. She caught a glimpse of the look of pure panic on his face as he rushed past her. She stood in shock as he hobbled towards the emergency exit at the end of the hallway. Even injured, he was amazingly fast and graceful. He shoved open the door using his left arm. His right was a bloody mess. The boy quickly disappeared through the door, out into the still rainy mid-day gloom.

There was about two seconds of silence after the boys sudden departure for Haruka to stand in the hallway, stunned. Then an alarm attached the emergency exit door began to sound throughout the hospital. Staff rushed into the hallway from patient rooms and private offices. Dr. Taylor came rushing out his office, cursing under his breath.

Haruka's eyes widened with a sudden realization. _'What if they can't find him? I can't lose him before I even get to talk to him! I have to know…'_

Without a second thought, Haruka sprinted the short distance to the doors and burst through them to the city outside. The rain soaked her as her eyes searched the surrounding streets desperately.

'_Where is he?!'_

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**Just to let it be know: This will NOT be a KyoxOC fic. **

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	8. And Found

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.**

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It took approximately two minutes for Hatori to call a taxi to drive Sohma's gathered at Shigure's house to the hospital. It took approximately ten minutes for the cab to arrive in front of the house and for all four anxious men to cram into the backseat. It took approximately thirty minutes for the taxi driver to deposit his passengers at the front entrance of the hospital where Kyo had been taken. All things considered, the Sohma's made excellent time in getting there.

But that didn't matter.

Kyo was already long gone.

* * *

The receptionist watched in interest as four fairly handsome men burst through the front entrance. The hospital had been a whirl of activity in the last few hours. First a teenage boy had been brought in from the scene of a car accident. It had been the most severe case the hospital had seen in weeks. Then not long after the boy woke up, he attacked a nurse, and escaped out an emergency exit before anyone caught him. The alarm had been shut off and the police had been called. One of the officers was still talking to the boy's doctor. And now, these men looked like they were about to cause even more drama. She sighed and braced herself for the moment when they would ambush her at the desk.

"Excuse me ma'am?!"

What looked like the oldest of the four reached the desk first. He was dressed in expensive looking slacks and a plain, white button-down shirt. He had a frantic look in his eyes.

"Ma'am, we're here about our cousin, Kyo Sohma. Is he ok? Where is he? Can we see him?"

"You said you're looking for Kyo Sohma? Hold on, let me check my files. You can all take a seat over in the waiting area, while I look and see what room he's in."

"Thank you so much, ma'am." The man looked relieved.

"No problem." the receptionist replied. "You all just sit tight and you'll see your cousin in no time."

The men moved over to the waiting area and sat down, each looking considerably less frantic than they had five minutes ago upon first entering the hospital.

The receptionist turned her gaze from the now sedentary men towards her computer. Her fingers froze for a moment over her keyboard as something tugged at her memory. That name… Kyo Sohma. She felt there was something she should be remembering about that name. She typed it in.

'_Oh god. Their cousin is that poor boy. How could I forget his name so quickly?'_ Her eyes darted quickly over to his family. They were still sitting without talking. _'I don't feel comfortable telling them we lost him. I'd better page Dr. Taylor. And the police officer is still here as well. I'm sure he'll want to speak to the boy's family.'_

She quickly dialed in the numbers to page Dr. Taylor. As she waited for him to make his way to the waiting room, she examined the boy's family.

The man who had spoken to her, the one she assumed was the oldest, sat straight in his chair, arms folded. He looked like he was deep in thought and seemed to be the most distressed. The man sitting next to him looked to be around his age, if only slightly younger. He was wearing a traditional kimono and sat with a much more relaxed air about him than any of the others. The two remaining men looked to be in their late teens. One was silver-haired and had a soft, feminine grace about him, and the other had a head of black and white hair and sported several earrings in each ear.

"You paged me?"

The receptionist was interrupted in her musings as Dr. Taylor arrived at the front desk.

"Yes I did. See those men there? They say they're Kyo Sohma's family."

The doctor sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn. I was hoping to get this situation more sorted out before they showed up. I'm praying that they don't decide to sue the hospital. Lord knows we don't have the money for it. I guess I'll go speak to them. They'll probably want to speak to the police as well."

Dr. Taylor approached the Sohma's, sizing them up as he walked toward them.

'_Two of them are teenagers. Nothing to worry about there. The adults though… they could cause some trouble for me if I'm not careful. The one in the kimono doesn't look too uptight… but the other one looks like he means business. Damn that kid. Please, dear god, don't let them sue me!'_

"Kyo Sohma's family?"

The men looked up with expectant faces.

"I'm Dr. Taylor. I was taking care of Kyo. Now, I don't want you to worry. He was in a car crash, and he sustained some pretty nasty injuries, but he's doing ok. Unfortunately, there were some complications…"

"What do you mean, Dr. Taylor?" The man in the kimono asked.

"You see, after he finally regained consciousness, he attacked a nurse."

"He attacked a nurse?"

"We don't believe that he meant it. You see, one of the injuries he received during the crash was some pretty severe head trauma. I believe it caused some temporary amnesia. Basically, he couldn't remember anything. I believe the police identified were able to contact you about him because they ran the license plate number on the car he was driving."

"Dammit Kyo. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

"There's one more thing, Mr. Sohma. After he attacked the nurse… he ran away. For lack of a better term."

"What?"

"He escaped through one of the emergency exits. We sent personnel out immediately to look for him, but he had already disappeared. On behalf of the hospital, I would like to apologize. This is a grievous mistake on our part and-"

"You lost him?! How the hell do you lose a patient?! Especially an injured one?!"

Dr. Taylor sighed again. This was going to be a long evening.

********************************************* _Earlier that day_

Haruka ran desperately down yet another rain-soaked alley. She had been running up and down streets and alleyways for the last half an hour and still she hadn't found a single sign of the orange-haired boy. The rain had long since soaked her through and every time she paused in her search, she began to shiver violently.

'_I've got to find him. He's probably cold and miserable and scared. He needs me to protect him. I promised him I would always protect him. I mean… I promised him… not this boy. But... this boy… so similar.'_

She gritted her teeth in frustration as she turned onto another empty alley.

"Dammit!" She clenched her fists in anger. She suddenly had a great urge to hit something. "Where the hell are you?!"

A faint sound made her look around in surprise. She listened intently and heard it again. It was a light groaning, barely audible in the pouring rain. It was coming from farther down the alley.

She cautiously approached the direction of the noise. Was it him? She prayed it was. Huddled in wet, miserable-looking heap against the wall was a person. She slowly knelt down next to the person. She smiled to herself as she saw his hair. It was a vivid shade of orange.

"I found you." she whispered.

Suddenly, she realized how serious a situation she was in. Sure, she had found the boy. But he was in terrible shape. He was barely conscious, and blood was streaming from his injured arm, mixing with the rain, and running off into a puddle on the ground. He was pale, deathly pale. The sight of him brought back a jolt of painful memories. She quickly pushed them down. She would deal with them later. First, she had to take care of this broken boy in front of her.

She hesitantly reached a hand out to brush the sodden hair off his face. A sudden glint from around his neck caught her eye. She gingerly picked up with two fingers the chain hanging from his neck.

"Kyo." she read, from his golden necklace. "That's not right. That's not right at all."

With a sudden violent gesture, she ripped the delicate chain from around his neck and flung it onto the ground.

"There we go." She murmured, as she once again returned her attention to his face. "Don't worry. I've got you. I'll fix you up. Don't you worry, Haruki."

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	9. Yeah

I know things that aren't chapters aren't supposed to be posted, but I'll take this down in a bit.

So this is my oldest fanfiction, and I just reread it recently and realized…. It sucks. Majorly. The writing is poor and the OC makes me sad.

That being said, I can improve both the writing and the plot, but I really only want to do it if people still even want to read this story. So let me know if you do want me to revise and continue it. It's worth my time if it'll make just one person smile.

No seriously. I have some time on my hands right now.

~xElementFivex


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